Video Games: Culture & Industry
E59.1008
Fall 2009, September 11 to December 18
Department of Media, Culture and Communication
Instructor: Joost van Dreunen, jvd228@nyu.edu
Class meets Fridays, from 9:30 – 12:00pm
NYU Game Center, room 941
721 Broadway, 9th floor
(Skirball Center for New Media at the Tisch School for the Arts)
Office: 239 Greene, 7th floor; Office hours: By Appointment
For the most up-to-date reading list and downloadable PDFs, go to: http://www.waffler.org/nyu09/
(password: NYU2009)
Course Description
Video games are one of the fastest growing sectors of the entertainment industry; according to the
Entertainment Software Association, Americans spent $11.7 billion on computer and video game software
(not including consoles and other hardware) in 2008, and the number continues to rise with each passing
year. However, videogames are having a cultural impact far beyond their role as an economic commodity;
they are also changing the way we tell stories, the way we interact with one another, and the ways in which
we understand the world and our own roles in it.
In this class, we explore all of these dynamics, studying the history of videogames, the present industry
landscape, and possible future developments in technology, design, industry organization and the cultural
role of games. In addition to some fascinating readings, we enjoy class lectures by several guest speakers,
including game developers, theorists, and videogame industry executives. The central question that serves
as a guideline throughout the course is the extent to which, and what, how we play says something about
society.
Additionally, we spend a significant portion of each class (probably the last 45-60 minutes or so) playing –
and watching each other play – video games. This provides us an opportunity to put our theoretical
understanding of the subject in perspective, as well as give us a sense of what makes both classic and
contemporary games compelling from a user’s vantage point. Each student should expect to spend at least
one hour of the semester playing video games in front of his or her colleagues.
Course Objectives
1.
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To provide students with a broad sense of the history of video games as an art form and an
industry
To provide students with a sense of the social impact of video games
To provide students with an understanding of the organization and culture of the video game
industry
To provide students with enough information about video games to decide whether they would
like to work in the industry, and to identify potential roles they would play in it
To provide students with enough basic knowledge to qualify for an entry-level job in the video
games industry, should they choose to pursue one
Methods of Evaluation
Attendance and Participation
30%
Because this class is run like a seminar, attendance and participation are of paramount importance: they are
the best way to demonstrate what you have been learning as well as fine tune your ideas in dialogue with
your classmates. This means regular and prompt attendance, coming to class having done the work,
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speaking when you have something to say, and listening respectfully when you don’t. An excess of two
absences over the course of the semester will negatively impact your grade.
Class Blog
15%
Once a week, you are expected to post 1-2 paragraphs to the class blog (http://nyugames.blogspot.com),
asking questions or making observations about the readings and/or class discussions, or alerting us to some
new and interesting development in video game industry, culture or design. These will be due on Mondays,
11:59 pm (though you can do them earlier), and can cover anything up to and including Friday’s class.
They will be used frequently to guide our discussions. These assignments are not graded individually, and
you cannot make them up.
Game Presentation
15%
Once or twice during the course, you will be responsible for researching and playing a game on your own
time, and then presenting it to the rest of the class during “lab” time. We will assign games and dates
during the first class. While this should be fun, it should also be scholarly: discuss the game from a critical
perspective, bringing our class readings and discussions to light, as well as your own experiences and
interpretations.
Final Paper
40%
The final paper, due on December 18, will be 8-10 pages (or roughly 3,000 words). The paper should draw
directly on our class readings and discussions, and should cite at least 8 sources, 5 of them from the class
readings. You should send me a 1-2 paragraph paper topic proposal by November 20.
Written Work
All submitted work must be typed, double spaced, and paginated in 12-point Times New Roman font, and
submitted digitally, to my email address, in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or OpenOffice format. The
student’s name, date, and essay title should appear on the first page, and pages should be numbered.
Consult the American Psychological Association (APA) formal style manual or Chicago Manual of Style
for proper citation and quotation formatting.
Online and encyclopedic sources such as Wikipedia are excellent starting points for your research. They
offer a valuable overview of specific subjects, and link to vital primary and secondary sources for your
work. However, you are not permitted to quote or cite the Wikipedia pages themselves as references in
your work.
Free writing help is available through the Writing Center, 269 Mercer Street, 2nd Floor. The telephone
number is: (212) 998-8866.
Plagiarism
Academic plagiarism is a serious offense. If you do it, in any form, you will fail the entire course. Just to
be clear, this includes every unacknowledged use of materials written by others (even sentences or obvious
paraphrases without quotes). Please see the University’s guidelines for further information on this matter.
Late Assignments
Late assignments will be marked down one letter grade for every day they are overdue. If you think you are
going to be late with an assignment, you must notify me before the assignment is due (and this does not
mean an email an hour before class). Please respect yourself and me. Lame excuses and lying will not be
tolerated.
Students With Disabilities
Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to a chronic, psychological, visual, mobility
and/or learning disability, or is Deaf or Hard of Hearing should register with the Moses Center for Students
with Disabilities at 212 998-4980, 240 Greene Street, http://www.nyu.edu/csd
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Texts and Supplies
Readings will be made available digitally. In addition, students are encouraged to immerse themselves in
the business and culture of games, by reading web sites such as the ones listed below:
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Joystiq: http://www.joystiq.com/
Kotaku: http://www.kotaku.com/
Wonderland: http://www.wonderlandblog.com/
Terra Nova: http://terranova.blogs.com/
Penny Arcade: http://www.penny-arcade.com/
Slashdot: http://games.slashdot.org/
ChrisM: http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/ChrisM/
1up: http://www.1up.com/
Magic Box: http://www.themagicbox.com/gaming.htm
Game Industry Biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/
GameSpy: http://www.gamespy.com
Gama Sutra: http://www.gamasutra.com
Blue’s News: http://www.bluesnews.com/
Water Cooler Games: http://watercoolergames.org/
Serious Games: http://www.seriousgames.org/
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Greg Costikyan: http://www.costik.com/
Avant Game: http://avantgame.blogspot.com/
Raph Koster’s blog: http://RaphKoster.com
Re-Mission: http://www.re-mission.net/
Select Parks: http://www.selectparks.net/
Eddo Stern: http://www.eddostern.com/
Speed Demos Archive:
http://speeddemosarchive.com/
Addicting Games:
http://www.addictinggames.com/
Game Girl Advance:
http://www.gamegirladvance.com/
Int’l Game Dev Assoc: http://www.igda.org/
International Hobo: http://www.ihobo.com
Video Game Museum:
http://www.vgmuseum.com/
Evaluation
A=Excellent
Outstanding work in all respects. This work demonstrates comprehensive and solid understanding of course
material, and presents thoughtful interpretations, well-focused and original insights, and well-reasoned
commentary and analysis. Includes skillful use of source materials, illuminating examples and illustrations,
fluent expression, and no grammar/typing errors.
B=Good
This work demonstrates a complete and accurate understanding of course material, presents a reasonable
degree of insight and broad levels of analysis. Work reflects competence, but stays at a general or
predictable level of understanding. Source materials, examples, illustrations, are used appropriately and
articulation/writing is clear. Paper has been carefully proofread.
C=Adequate/Fair
This work demonstrates understanding that hits in the ballpark, but which remains superficial, incomplete,
or expresses some significant errors or weaknesses. Source materials may be used inadequately or
inappropriately, and arguments lack concrete, specific examples and illustrations. Writing/articulation may
appear vague, hard to follow, or loaded with typos and other technical errors.
D=Unsatisfactory
This work demonstrates a serious lack or error in understanding, and fails to express the most rudimentary
aspects of the course. Sources may be used entirely inappropriately or not at all, and writing/articulation
appears deficient.
F=Failed
Work not submitted or attempted.
Plus (+) or minus (-) grades indicate your range within the aforementioned grades. In other words, B+
means very good.
A = 94-100
A- = 90-93
B+ = 87-89
B = 84-86
B- = 80-83
C+= 77-79
C = 74-76
C- = 70-73
D+ = 67-69
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Timeline
9/11. Welcome & Introduction
9/18. Taxonomy and History of Video Games
To start off our inquiry we will first broadly review the entire scope of the video game universe – from
Pong to PS3, from consoles to arcades to PCs to the Internet.
Readings
 Bateman, C. & Boon, R. (2004). A Guide to Computer Game Genres. International Hobo
(www.ihobo.com)
 Kent, S. (2001). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Prima Publishing; pp. xi-xvi (timeline)
 Newman, J. (2004). Videogames. New York: Routledge. Chapter 2, pp. 9-28.
Games
Spacewar!, Pong, Asteroids, Space Invaders and Pac Man (emulators)
9/25. How We Study Games 1: Cultural Theory
The first major body of academic literature on video games involves several of the qualitative
methodological approaches, including narratology, ludology, and ethnography.
Readings
 Frasca, G. (2003). Simulation vs. Narrative: Introduction to Ludology. In Wolf, M. J. P & Perron, B.
(eds.) (2003). The Video Game Theory Reader
 Gee, J. P. (2003). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palmgrave
Macmillan. Introduction, Conclusion and Appendix (20 pages)
 Wolf, M. J. P & Perron, B. (eds.) (2003). The Video Game Theory Reader. Routledge. Introduction.
Games
Super Mario World (SNES), MYST (PC) (Student Presentations)
10/2. How We Study Games 2: Social Science
A second venue of academic inquiry consists of several quantitative methodological approaches, among
which are human-computer interface design, media effects research, as well as psychological, sociological
and economic perspectives.
Readings
 Glazer, S. (2006, November 10). Video games. CQ Researcher, 16, 937-960.
 The Economist (2005, August 4). Chasing the dream.
 Williams, D. (2005). Bridging the Methodological Divide in Game Research. Simulation &
Gaming. 36(4), p. 447-463.
Games
Final Fantasy VII (PS), NBA Jam (SNES) (Student Presentations)
10/9. Video Games as Art
Moving away from the social sciences, we discuss the ways in which video games have been
conceptualized as an art form. This includes a review of video game aesthetics, as well as a discussion of
the tension between art and commerce in this industry. We also explore the notion of video games as avantgarde art, and their role within the traditional “art worlds” of museums, galleries, etc.
Readings
 McGonigal, J. (2005). All Game Play is Performance/Game Play is All Performance. Keynote
address for Playful: The State of the Art Game Conference, May 2005.
 Seabrook, J. (2006). Game Master. The New Yorker, November 6, 2006.
 Smuts, A. (2005, November 2). Are video games art? Contemporary Aesthetics.
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Games
Spore (PC), Okami (PS2) (Student presentations)
10/16. Video Games as Rhetoric
Moving beyond aesthetics, we look at video games in their potential for social advocacy, politics, and,
more generally, rhetoric. This includes a review and discussion of “water cooler” games and “serious”
games, an exploration of video games as training environments for social and career tasks, and a look at the
emerging experiments in games and health, in which doctors are using interactive environments to help
patients better understand and manage their physical conditions.
Readings
 Bergfeld, C. (2006, July 26). A Dose of Virtual Reality. Businessweek.
 Bogost, I. (2006). Playing politics: Videogames for Politics, Activism and Advocacy. First Monday.
Special Issue number 7.
 Chen, S., Michael, D. (2005) Proof of Learning: Assessment in Serious Games.
 Corti, K. (2005). Serious Games. Learning Magazine. pp. 6-7
 Friedman, T. 1999 Semiotics of SimCity.
 Hutson, J. (2006, May 29). The Purpose Driven Life Takers.
 Pelta-Heller, Z (2006, July 21). Kids Kill in Violent Christian Videogame. AlterNet
 Thompson, C. (2006, July 23). Saving the World, One Video Game at a Time. The New York
Times.
Games
Civilization IV (PC), Left Behind: Tribulation Forces (PC) (Student presentations)
Guest Speaker
Sande Chen, Writer & Game Designer
10/23. Video Game Design Principles
This week, we will discuss the practical matters that go into designing and building a successful video
game. What should the game look like? What should the game sound like? What factors go into
determining the architecture of a game, such as characters, levels, tasks and commands? We will talk with
veteran game designers, who will share their thoughts on best- and worst-of-breed examples from history
and the present day.
Readings
 McGonigal, J. (2006). The Puppet Master Problem: Design for Real-World, Mission-Based
Gaming. Second Person. Forthcoming from MIT Press, Fall 2006. Eds. Pat Harrigan and Noah
Wardrip-Fruin.
 Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (2005). Game Design and Meaningful Play. In J. Raessens and J.
Goldstein (Eds.), Handbook of Computer Game Studies. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 59-79
Games
World of Warcraft (PC), E.T. (Atari emulator) (Student presentations)
Guest Speaker
Wade Tinney, Large Animal Games
Field Trip to development studios of Large Animal Games (TBA)
10/30. Video Games as Industry I
After looking at the overall academic landscape, we move toward building our understanding of the video
game industry by reviewing its various distribution strategies, from brick-and-mortar to Internet based to
mobile communication networks. In this first part we review its structure, looking at the companies that
dominate the market and exploring the entire value chain, from developers to publishers to platform
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designers to retailers. We examine the key job roles in the industry, and discuss which roles students may
be interested in pursuing, and we look at the economic models of the industry, from top-selling $60
blockbuster titles to phone-based $2 games.
Readings
 Vogel, H. (2001). Entertainment Industry Economics: a Guide for Financial Analysis. (fifth edition)
Cambridge University Press. Chapter 10; pp. 251 – 263.
Games
Doom (PC), BioShock (XBOX 360) (Student presentations)
Guest Speaker
Mike DeBeneditis, Electric Sheep
11/6. Video Games as Industry II
In the second part, we discuss licensing, franchising, advertising, and marketing – examining the
“boilerplate” deals that govern these aspects of the industry and exploring the ways in which this business
continues to change as new technologies and consumer behaviors alter the business landscape. We
specifically focus on distribution.
Readings
 Spaight, T. (2009) Giving It Away For Free: How Free2Play is Transforming the Online Game
Business. Presentation at Gamelab, Portugal.
Games
Metal Gear Solid 4 (XBOX 360), Rock Band (PS3) (Student presentations)
Guest Speaker
Jeffrey Lee, Direct Agents
11/13. Trading Card Games: Past, Present & Future.
Card-based games are perhaps one of the oldest forms of game play, and trading card games (TCGs) have
evolved from a simple past time at role-playing game conventions to an industry of its own. In this week’s
class we will discuss TCGs, and their unique properties as a precursor to developments in other forms of
game play.
Readings
 David-Marshall, B., van Dreunen, J., Wang, M. (2009) Trading Card Game Industry White Paper:
From the T to the G to the C.
 Tobin, J. (2004) Pikachu’s Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon, Duke University
Press, Durham, London. Chapter 3.
Games
TBA
Guest Speakers
Brian David-Marshall & Matthew Wang, To Be Continued LLC
11/20. Emerging Video Game Models 1: Big Games
Because the impact of technologically mediated game play extends beyond the intimacy of the living room,
we must also familiarize ourselves with a few groundbreaking projects that re-image existing (non-play)
spaces through a technological lens.
Readings
 Big Games Manifesto by Area Code.
 Ruberg, B. (2006, August 10). Big Reality: A Chat with “Big Game” Designer Frank Lantz.
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GamaSutra.com.
Games Film!
Darkon, Dir. Andrew Neel, Luke Meyer. See/Think Productions 2006.
Guest Speaker
Andrew Neel, Producer & Director, Darkon
Luke Meyer, Director, Darkon
PAPER TOPICS DUE
11/27 Thanksgiving: No Classes.
12/4. Emerging Video Game Models 2: MMOs
One new model for interactive entertainment includes virtual reality, alternative reality, and massively
multiplayer online games. We take a look at the rapidly growing market for MMOs, its business models,
geographic distribution and the opportunities for social research.
Readings
 Levine, K. (2007) Alter Egos in a Virtual World, NPR Morning Edition.
 Spaight, T. (2005) Who Killed Ms. Norway? Salon.com
 The Economist (2006, Sept. 28). Living a Second Life.
Games
PMOG (PC), There.com (PC)
Guest Speaker:
Liel Liebovitz
12/11. Emerging Video Game Models 3: Casual Gaming
In our final meeting we will investigate the latest emerging form of game play: casual gaming. Through the
use of advance distribution networks and digital production, playing an easily accessible game that requires
a low commitment is becoming increasingly popular. We will investigate the characteristics and
affordances of casual gaming, and place them in a larger context.
Readings
 Anonymous (2009) Casual Game Report (draft)
Games
iPhone Games TBA (Student presentations)
Guest Speaker
Dalia Hierro, VP Games, LifeTV Television Networks
12/18. Final Papers Due, 11:59 p.m.
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